Of all food products dairy foods have the most potential concerning functional foods. Therefore, there is a tremendous amount of interest in value-added milk products and the identification of components in food which have health benefits. Bioactive Components of Milk provides an overview of these derived components and their diverse activities including: the stimulation of beneficial microflora, alerting the immune system to the presence of potential pathogens and allergens, binding and eliminating toxins, etc.

The book is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on bioactive milk lipid components, which very widely among mammalian species. The second part describes different aspects of biological active colostrums and milk proteins and their derivatives, with special concern on species specific effects. The third part reviews the production of recombinant human proteins in the milk of livestock animals - including ethical issues - and the aims of altering milk composition for the benefit of both the animals themselves and the consumers. The final part focuses on the influence of ruminants nutrition on the biological activity of milk.

"This multi-authored and international volume presents recent scientific advances on bioactive components of milk of both livestock and human. The ultimate goal is to create and use genetically engineered components from livestock milk … . The review format of the articles includes historical discovery dates of particular components and leads to extensive and valuable reference lists. … In addition to researchers in their respective fields, this volume will appeal to lactation consultants seeking scientific explanations for the unique nature of human milk." (Nicole J Bernshaw, ILCA Print and Multimedia Reviews, May, 2008)